Twitter posts fastest revenue growth since 2014 in pandemic rebound
Twitter shares rose as much as 9% in extended trading on Thursday after the social media company announced second-quarter earnings that came in stronger than analysts had anticipated.
Here’s what Twitter reported versus Wall Street’s estimates:
- Earnings: 20 cents per share, adjusted, vs. 7 cents as expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $1.19 billion vs. $1.07 billion as expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
- Monetizable daily active users (mDAUs): 206 million vs. 206.2 million as expected by analysts polled by StreetAccount.
Twitter’s revenue grew 74% year over year in the quarter, according to a shareholder letter, with the company citing “a broad increase in advertiser demand.” In the prior quarter, revenue had risen 28%. Growth accelerated as the company lapped a quarter when revenue declined by almost 19%, resulting in the strongest growth since 2014.
The number of monetizable daily active users, or Twitter users who view advertising on the site, grew by 11%, Twitter said.
In the quarter Twitter introduced its first subscription service, which gives users access to an Undo Tweet button and other features. The company also released its Spaces audio-chat feature on mobile devices for all users with at least 600 followers. And it announced a Tip Jar feature that will enable users to send money to others on the site.
With respect to guidance, Twitter said it sees $1.22 billion to $1.30 billion in third-quarter revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected $1.17 billion in revenue.
For all of 2021, Twitter said that it expects headcount and total expenses to go up at least 30% and that revenue will grow faster than expenses.
Notwithstanding the after-hours move, Twitter shares are up about 29% since the start of 2021, while the S&P 500 index has gone up 16% over the same period.
Executives will discuss the results on a conference call starting at 6 p.m. ET.
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